Enraged by the depravity he saw, Pinchas stood and killed two people: the world holds its breath, the plague stops. This incident is described in Psalms: “Pinchas rose up and prayed [vayefalel].” This becomes the model for Jewish standing-prayer – but not only the standing should be significant. The actions of Pinchas were abhorrent, we need not listen to apologetics, but he’s a role-model nonetheless. Prayer can be raw, violent, honest, criminal; it can be a protest at the world, mad enough to catch God’s attention. Humans have dynamic contradicting souls, our prayers should express that: sometimes we are meditative and accept the world-as-it-is, sometimes we fall down pleading for change, sometimes we rise up in prayer like lions, like Pinchas.
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[Inspired by: Psalms 106 and Numbers 25; Berachot 6b; Shulchan Aruch OH 1:1; Abraham Maimonides, Kifayat el-Abdin 34; and Raden Saleh, The Lion Hunt.]
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120 words of Torah 